


says it was poison

by ecv-197 (lazyfish)



Series: i'm a liability [4]
Category: The Orville (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 06:56:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21095288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/ecv-197
Summary: Gordon finds out about the sedoretu, but not in the best way.





	says it was poison

Gordon noticed more than people thought he did. He was a people person at his heart - he liked flying, sure, but he didn’t like it as much as people.

Gordon’s favorite person, unsurprisingly, was his best friend. So, he noticed things - and he especially noticed things pertaining to Ed. Maybe he wasn’t the most emotionally astute guy, but he could see that something was different with Ed. It didn’t take much longer to realize that  _ something _ was Kelly. Again.

That worried Gordon.

He liked Kelly, definitely more than he had when she had first joined the crew of the Orville, but there was only so much goodwill he could dredge up for someone who had broken his best friend’s heart. Gordon had been the one to scrape Ed off the floor, bit by bit. Putting someone else back together wasn’t something Gordon had ever imagined doing, but he’d done it for Ed. He didn’t really want to do it again.

Getting dinner with Ed, just the two of them, hadn’t been a ploy just so he could talk about the thing with Kelly. But since they were together, and alone, why not bring it up?

“So,” Gordon said. “You and Kelly?”

Ed’s face shifted. “You don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I didn’t say that, man.” Gordon took a sip of his beer. “I’m just saying, I don’t like to mow the same grass twice.”

“You’ve never mown a day in your life.”

It was true. Gordon had never lived someplace with a yard, and even if he had, mowing the grass wasn’t really done anymore. It didn’t make sense to expend energy on something like mowing grass when there were better uses of the space and resources. But - “Not the point.”

“I know.” Ed looked at his hands, deep in thought. “Look, Gordon, I know it’s crazy to ask you to believe me when I say this, but this time it’s gonna be different.”

It was crazy. “How can you know that?”

“Because…” Ed sighed. “Just because, alright?”

“Ed, if you and Kelly are back together, I’m gonna need more than a ‘because’.” There. He said it. Maybe it was mean but he deserved to be a little mean,after all the times Kelly had broken Ed’s heart. 

“I’ll tell you eventually, okay? I just need to talk to her about it.”

Talk to her about together so they could make the perfect excuse, or decide what Gordon was most likely to believe. As long as she wasn’t pregnant or something Gordon would be okay. “Whatever, man.” 

They’d come up with something to make Gordon buy their song and dance, and he would pretend to - but he’d also be waiting for things to fall apart.

\---

Some might call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, but Gordon was going to call it what it was: the truth. The truth always came out, especially when you were looking for it.

All it took was him coming around the corner a little faster than someone would normally, and he saw it - Kelly and Talla. There wasn’t any direct evidence, but when Talla wiped her thumb over Kelly’s chin it came back red. Red with lipstick - Talla’s lipstick. They had been  _ kissing _ .

Of fucking course. Once a cheater, always a cheater.

Ed wasn’t working, which meant he was probably in his quarters. Gordon did an about-face, disappearing before either woman could see him, and began stalking his way to the captain’s quarters.

He let himself in without ringing the bell, which was probably rude, but he was too livid to care. Ed was sitting in his living room, tablet balanced on his lap, when Gordon stormed in.

“Kelly’s cheating on you!”

Ed didn’t look surprised, which somehow pissed Gordon off even more.

“You saw her with Talla,” he said, voice almost calm.

“Yeah, I - wait, did you  _ know _ about this?”

“Yeah, I did.” Ed set the tablet aside. “Gordon, that's what I wanted to tell you about, earlier. It’s different between Kelly and me because Talla’s with us now.”

“You’re screwing Talla?!” The jump in Gordon’s gut was nothing like when he figured out his best friend was sleeping with Janel. Nothing at all. 

“No, I -”

“So Kelly’s just allowed to sleep with both of you, is that it?”

“Gordon, you need to  _ listen _ .” Ed stood up from his couch, crossing his arms over his chest. He was using his Captain voice, which Gordon didn’t like. He wasn’t here as Ed’s helmsman, he was here as his best friend of two decades! “On Xeleya, there’s this thing called a sedoretu. Four people, all together. We have three so far and I  _ know _ it sounds crazy but it works and I’m happy!”

“The last time you said you were happy with someone she turned out to be a fucking Krill! And the time before that you got a divorce!”

“What, are you saying I can’t be trusted with my own emotions?” Ed took a step closer, probably trying to look threatening.

“Yeah, Ed, I am saying that!” Gordon mirrored the step, puffing up his chest. Ed was taller but he was also not good at physical confrontations. Gordon was surprised they had even gotten this far. “Because I’m always the one that has to deal with your shit when it goes south and I’m tired of it!”

“Then  _ don’t _ deal with my shit!” Ed snapped, stepping even closer. They were close enough now that Gordon could see the vein popping in Ed’s forehead, and could practically feel the heat radiating off him.

“What kind of friend would I be if I walked away when you were hurting?” A bad one, that’s what he’d be. And Gordon was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a bad friend. It wasn’t in his blood.

“What type of friend would you be if you didn’t let me be happy?”

Gordon felt like he’d been sucker punched. “Are you saying we’re not friends anymore?”

“I’m not saying anything other than that I’m not going to break up with Kelly and Talla just because you don’t understand what’s happening between us.”

“But she’s cheating on you,” Gordon repeated, hoping Ed would understand how very not okay that was.

“It’s not cheating if I know about it and told her she could do it.” The flush that had crept into Ed’s face in the heat of their argument was beginning to fade. “Kelly isn’t cheating on me. If you can’t accept that, then maybe it’s better if we take a break.”

“Take a  _ break _ ?” What was this, some 21st-century Hallmark movie? Friends didn’t take breaks. Friends were friends through thick and thin. And of all of the times to choose to give up on their friendship, why was Ed picking now?

“You’re obviously upset, but like I said, this isn’t gonna change.” Ed shuffled back a few feet. “It seems like space is the only way we can both be happy.”

All of the heat drained from Gordon’s body, replaced by something cool and sickening. If there was a word for this feeling, he didn’t know it.

“Yeah. Space.” Gordon swallowed hard. Ed wasn’t going to change his mind, which meant all there was for Gordon to do was leave.

\---

Gordon noticed more than people thought he did.

The same couldn’t be said for other people noticing Gordon.

If anyone saw anything off about him when he came onto the bridge the next day, they didn’t say anything. They didn’t say anything the day after that, or the day after that, either.

The only one who looked even mildly bothered about it was Talla, and Gordon couldn’t summon up the good will to think it was for any reason other than her own guilt. 

Maybe, Gordon thought, things would work out between Ed, Talla, and Kelly. But they probably wouldn’t. 

What did he know, though? He was just the pilot.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Clez for betaing this for me! :)


End file.
